Livermore: Taqueria Los Caporales

"Le atenderan los mismos duenos," is their motto, "you will be served by the owners," and I have no reason to doubt it. Just, they got a little catching up to do. I ordered two carnitas tacos, and one al pastor. I waited with a bowl of corn chips that seemed store-bought, and a dark, smoky chipotle-tasting salsa that had a slow fuse to a big burn. The tacos came just as I finished the chips. The "al pastor" seemed, as I've seen suggested on this board, to have been marinated and grilled, or maybe not marinated, as the flavor was almost entirely that of salsa verde and chopped onions. The carnitas were better, hot and porky-tasting; when my order went into the kitchen, I had seen the guy scoop up the pork and toss it into a frying pan. A little overdone, but I liked the crunchy texture OK, and the generous scoop of salsa cruda on each taco brightened up the flavor a bit.

Can't compare it with El Charro, since I've never had tacos there, but it's on a par with your average truck. The room is crowded at 11 AM, and not with no gringos, neither, so somebody likes this place. For $1.35 each, the tacos are fair; they're what I'd like while drinking some cold beers after a hot day. I'll go back again, and try something more structured, like pescado frito, but I gotta tell you, nobody in the place was eating anything but tacos.

A super hot pan, preheated under the broiler, will help to brown the underside of the steak while the broiler chars the top and cooks the meat through. The broccoli stems will become crisp-tender while the florets get deliciously frizzled.